"DT represents a poor example of an elite wide receiver in the NFL. They are supposed to be loud, rippling with swag, too cool for school.

Can you picture that slight Southern smile telling Peyton Manning to give him the damn ball?

"At first, when he got here, I'll be honest, I was scared to talk to him. It was Peyton Manning," Thomas told me in a quiet corner at Dove Valley.

"I'm no different than anyone else. I mean, it's Peyton."

"Further, with Manning at quarterback, the Broncos are an equal-opportunity operation, the first team in history with five players scoring 10 touchdowns. The other All-Pro wideouts — Johnson (first team), Josh Gordon (first), A.J. Green (second) and Antonio Brown (second) — were clear-cut No. 1 options.

"That's why I didn't expect to make it," Thomas said. "As a group, with all of our guys, we didn't really have a main target. So for me to be on the group that made All-Pro, it's a big deal to me. There's a lot of guys that had better numbers than me.

Has he left a note in Peyton's locker to request another five years from the ultimate quarterback?

"I wish he would play five more years, man. I'm blessed just to have him for this long. I appreciate him," Thomas said. "At this point, the main thing for him is to win another Super Bowl. That's what we want to do for him."

"(Sherman's) a great player. I'd love to have that matchup to show what kind of player I am," Thomas told the media following Saturday's practice. "I don't know if we'll match up, but like I said, he's a great player.

"I think Demaryius Thomas is on a complete different level with his talent," Decker said. "I think he's a top five-caliber receiver in this league. How it falls off from there, where you look at a receiver, I just try to be versatile and play all the positions. People might want to label me, but I don't want to put a label on myself."